Speaking at the European Retail Round Table Conference in Brussels Commissioner Kroes underlined that the migration of cards is a key issue. “The UK and Austrian experience sadly shows that when national card schemes migrated to international brands, there was an increase in fees charged to retailers”, she said.
Kroes was also worried that market participants appear to have interpreted the SEPA Cards framework in a way that a card scheme is only SEPA compliant if it covers all 31 states of the SEPA territory. “There is no need for national systems to be replaced by the existing international schemes because of SEPA”, she underlined.
With regard to the latest Commission decision on Multilateral Interchange Fees Mrs Kroes made cleat that the Commission did not conclude that all MIFs are illegal per se. “The reason we found this MIF illegal was because MasterCard could not demonstrate that its MIF contributed to objective efficiencies, or that it benefited consumers.”
The Commissioner called for more transparency in the use of cash, cheques, debit or credit cards. “I am aware I am opening the whole debate about surcharge, additional fees to be paid when you use an expensive payment instrument. I know it is a sensitive subject. But it is an important one that cannot be pushed into the long grass.”
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© Graham Bishop
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